Henry Lee graduated from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) when he was seventeen

From The Road to Guilford Courthouse by John Buchanan. Page 352.

The march from Cowpens to the army’s rendezvous 150 miles away at Guilford Courthouse was a skillful, orderly retreat accomplished in stages. Now, however, a race began to the Dan River. It also was conducted with skill and precision and the added fillip of heart-pounding tension. The key players on the American side were Morgan’s light troops, now commanded by the intelligent, highly competent Otho Holland Williams. They were reinforced by a small but very professional unit of horse and foot led by a brave and dashing cavalryman from Virginia.

Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee, Jr. (1756–1818) was the father of a far more famous American, General Robert E. Lee. But at the time of which we write the father’s was a household name in America. Known in his lifetime and since as Light Horse Harry, he ranks as one of the nation’s finest cavalry commanders. The Lees arrived in Virginia about 1641. Henry Lee graduated from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) when he was seventeen, and would have gone to London to study law at Middle Temple had not the war intervened. He was commissioned a captain of Virginia cavalry in 1776; the following year his company joined the 1st Continental Dragoons with Washington’s army. Despite his youth he became an intimate of George Washington, and they were friends to the great man’s death. It was Lee who wrote Washington’s funeral oration, with its immortal words, “First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Lee was promoted to major in 1778, and on 19 July 1779, he overcame his own youthful errors to score one of the brilliant coups of the war by surprising the British at Paulus Hook, New Jersey. It was a small victory but important as a morale builder and for establishing Lee’s reputation. He received from Congress one of the eight gold medals awarded during the war. On 30 November 1780 Light Horse Harry Lee was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of Lee’s Legion, consisting of his original three troops of cavalry to which was added three companies of infantry: their original strength was 100 horse and 180 foot. They wore short green jackets similar to Tarleton’s British Legion—an important detail to remember. A passionate admirer of good horseflesh, Lee saw to it that his cavalry troops were always mounted on well-bred, powerful stock. It was Nathanael Greene, ever seeking good cavalry, who arranged Lee’s transfer to the Southern Department, and on 13 January 1781, Light Horse Harry and his Legion reported to Greene at his camp on the Pee Dee.